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Utahraptor
Utahraptor is currently the largest member of the Dromaeosaur family of dinosaurs ever discovered, due to the fact that the larger Megaraptor is now known not to be a Dromaeosaur. It lived during the Early Cretaceous period. Utahraptor hunted in packs to bring down large prey, much like their Dromaeosaur cousins Deinonychus and Velociraptor. Physical Appearance Utahraptor was a large dromaeosaur. It was about two to four meters tall, seven meters long, and weighed about 1,000 pounds. Its skeletal design was like that of a modern turkey or chicken. Its bones were hollow, but strong. It had a rectangular head with a jaw packed with razor-sharp teeth. It had long and relatively thin arms, which ended in three fingers with claws. The first finger was the shortest, and the middle finger was the longest. It had a long tail used for balance. It had short and robust legs. Their feet had four toes. The first toe was not used at all. The second toe was a retractable toe claw that could grow up to 12 inches long. The claw was covered with a layer of keratin to protect the bone. The third and fourth toes were used for balance. Utahraptor and other dromaeosaurs might have had binocular vision, like that of an eagle. Its hearing was probably very excellent. Scientists recently discovered that raptors in general could hear low frequency sounds the best. It could smell prey from at least a mile away. Dromaeosaurs like Utahraptor were covered in feathers. The arms, legs, and tails were covered in true feathers, whilst the rest of their body was probably covered in protofeathers. The feathers on the arms of young raptors would’ve enabled a special type of locomotion called wing-assisted incline running, or WAIR for short. Discovered by Ken Dial, a Montana zoologist, this is a behavior used by modern birds that combines flapping the wings back and forth while running up the sides of trees. This flapping pushes the feet of the bird against the tree, allowing it to run vertically up the trunk. This indicates, but does not prove, that small dromaeosaurs lived part-time in the trees. Social Behavior and Intelligence Scientists say dromaeosaurs like Utahraptor probably hunted in packs. They lived together in these packs full-time. The pack they lived in was almost like their family, even if there were few or no actual blood relations. They would have competed for food, territory, and the right to mate in these packs. They acted as a team to bring down an animal several times their size. In order to do this, they may have had some form of communication, like we do today, but probably not to our extent. Utahraptor packs would have usually consisted of an alpha female, and at least three others; probably most of the rest were males. Few dromaeosaur egg specimens are in human possession today. Dromaeosaurs were one of the most intelligent groups of dinosaurs that ever existed, second only to the troodonts. They were master strategists. Paleontologists figure out relative dinosaur intelligence based on their Encephalization Quotient, or EQ. Basically put, an EQ is the brain to body mass ratio. For example, for humans, the figure comes out at about 7:14, but this does not always determine high intelligence. The EQ of a bird is about 7:20, which would make them appear smarter than humans. The EQ of a troodont is about 6 even, and dromaeosaurs aren’t far behind; with an average EQ of about 5.87 or higher. The EQ of Utahraptor is about the same as a troodont, which makes Utahraptor the most intelligent dromaeosaur, and possibly dinosaur, of all time. Utahraptor was probably just as smart as a modern-day fox. Weapons Utahraptor had many extremely dangerous weapons to use in combat. Its first weapon was its brain. Utahraptor was a master strategist, and had a fairly expanded brain. Its second weapon it had were the claws on its hands. It used the claws to slash and rip apart its prey, and also to get to the good stuff once the prey animal had died. Its third combat weapon was its second toe, which was the deadly toe claw. Utahraptor would use its toe claw to stab its prey, possibly in the jugular vein or spine, causing paralysis and/or death. Its teeth in its jaws were also a crucial weapon, used to tear apart and eat a carcass. Its next weapon was crucial in the hunting process. Utahraptor’s tail was used for balance when it was bringing down a prey animal, and also when the animal was running. How it used these weapons during mating season During the mating season, Utahraptor males would probably become more aggressive towards each other. During the fight to find a female, however, the males were probably careful not to hurt each other. They might've grabbed onto each other’s shoulders and had a shoving match. Whoever fell to the ground first would be the loser, and he wouldn’t win the right to mate. Of course, sometimes they would snap at each other, but rarely would any of the males be seriously injured. In the case of two females in the group, the best two males would get to choose a female. Sometimes, a certain male could become unlucky all through its life. The shoving matches they had may not have always been safe. If the male who lost the match wasn’t happy, it may have gotten into a screeching match with the winner. And in some of these cases, the winner may challenge the loser to a real fight, one that has all the dangers; a fight to the death. Diet Utahraptor’s diet wasn’t very complicated. They would hunt anything that was available to them. When it comes to water, Utahraptor probably didn't need to drink a whole lot, since it probably got most of its water from the blood of its prey. However, due to the fact it mostly lived in a semi-arid climate, it probably still had to drink fresh water. It is possible that Utahraptor scavenged when it couldn’t find anything else to eat. Since it was one of the largest carnivores of the early Cretaceous, it could probably scare most other predators away from a carcass that it wanted to feed on. However, scavenged meat was a last resort for Utahraptor. Speed and Agility Utahraptor was agile, and could probably outrun most other dinosaurs during its time. However, it was more of a heavyweight fighter, rather than a more agile Velociraptor, which relied on its ferocity and dexterity, rather than its size. Utahraptor was the fastest carnivore in the early Cretaceous, although it could only run fast in short, quick bursts of speed. At top speed, Utahraptor could probably run up to 20 miles per hour for about 5-10 seconds. It wasn’t any faster because of its size. (However, the typical dromaeosaur ft. tall, 6 ft. long could reach speeds up to 25-30 miles per hour.) Dromaeosaurs could run so fast because a.) Their legs were very strong and b.) because of their lung design. First, the raptor would, obviously, inhale air. Then, that air would travel to various bones and vertebrae as well as the lungs. Finally, the remaining air exited the body through holes in various bones and escaped through the animal's pores in its skin. This method conserved energy because the raptor didn't have to let as much air out of its lungs. Habitat Utahraptor packs probably lived in forests or deserts/prairies where hunting wouldn’t be a problem. They probably had a certain amount of territory, probably up to 3 miles in all directions, and part of their territory could have been near a water source, such as a lake, river, or stream. This suggests, but does not prove, that Utahraptor ate fish as part of its regular diet. Forest In the forest, Utahraptor would probably have hunted rodent-like creatures and lizards. The forest is probably where they would put their nests. Utahraptor packs guarded their nests very well. They would leave one or two guards behind while the rest of the pack hunts. Then, they would probably bring back some leftovers for the guards. Forest Utahraptors would have been rare, since at that time, the landscape was mostly barren desert, with very few forests. Desert The desert/prairie was probably where Utahraptor did most of its hunting when it comes to big game. They would try to separate a young or weak creature from the rest of its herd, then they would kill the separated creature. Often, the prey animal wouldn’t be enough to supply all Utahraptor with food. Therefore, there were probably feeding frenzies, in which some of the members of the pack may have been injured or killed. Sexual Dimorphism Sexual dimorphism is the differences between a male and a female of the same species. Dimorphism comes from two Greek words: di meaning two and morph meaning form. In mallards, for example, the male has a green head and a more brilliant body than the female. In most species of spiders, the female is much larger than the male. This might have been the case for dinosaurs, as well. For example, a female Tyrannosaurus was slightly larger than a male Tyrannosaurus. In the case of Utahraptor, the female might have been a little larger than the male. In the Media Utahraptor appears in the Walking with Dinosaurs series shown hunting the herbivore Iguanadon and features in Jurassic Fight Club. It also apears in the popular PC game Zoo Tycoon 2 where it is over-sized, larger than Tyrannosaurus rex', and is much stronger(he can be stronger in packs) Category:Carnivores Category:Dinosaurs Category:Cretaceous dinosaurs Category:Dromaeosaurs Category:Raptors Category:Dinosaurs of North America Category:Early Cretaceous dinosaurs Category:Feathered dinosaurs